To beat any one with a stick, or rope’s end: perhaps a contraction of dry rub. It is also used to signify a good beating with any instrument.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
to drop down * drummerNathan Bailey's 1721 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes